Swiss Rail is planning night trains connecting Switzerland’s main cities starting in 2026, according to CH Media and RTS. The rail company plans to link centres such as Zurich, Basel and Geneva at night during the weekends, according to reports. Intercity trains would run between Geneva and Zurich with a transfer hub in Olten in […]
Swiss to vote on biodiversity initiative
On 22 September 2024, the Swiss will vote on two popular initiatives. The first is the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and our landscape”. The second is on a plan to reform Switzerland’s occupational pension system. Biodiversity, a term referring to the number of living organisms and the habitats that support them, […]
Swiss want more political action on immigration
A survey report published this week shows that the population of Switzerland increasingly sees immigration as a challenge and desires political action. Overall, while the economic and cultural effects of immigration are viewed positively, the strains on infrastructure, housing and the environment are viewed negatively. In addition, negativity towards immigration is showing among groups that […]
Swiss Rail financial results disappoint
This week, Swiss Rail published its half-year results. During the first six months of 2024, the company made a profit of CHF 50.8 million, a level far below what is required for it to operate comfortably and service its debt. As a rule of thumb, to remain in good financial shape the company needs to […]
Travelling by car becoming increasingly cheaper than public transport in Switzerland
Since 1990, the cost of travel by car has risen 24%, while travel by public transport has leapt by more than 100%, reported SRF. Since 1990, fuel prices and car prices have fallen, while the cost of tickets to ride public transport have consistently risen. According to Stefan Meierhans, Switzerland’s chief price watchdog, the rising […]
Switzerland falls short of electric mobility objectives
This week, Switzerland’s federal government met with leaders in the electric mobility sector to discuss progress and set targets for 2030, reported RTS. It appears targets set for 2025 are unlikely to be reached. The last time targets were set they were aimed at 50% of new vehicle registrations being electric by 2025. However, with […]
Male chicks to be identified before birth
Male chicks are not wanted by egg producers because they cannot produce eggs. Until fairly recently, they were identified at birth and shredded. On 1 January 2020, shredding live chickens was banned in Switzerland. Since then, suffocating the unwanted chicks with CO2 has been a popular alternative. This week, egg industry association Gallosuisse announced that […]
Sales ban on certain plants starts in Switzerland
In March 2024, Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) announced a sales ban on a list of 32 exotic invasive plants. From 1 September 2024, it will be illegal to sell these plants in Switzerland. Like all living things, plants have evolved to survive in specific environments. As humans have moved they have taken […]
New temperature record broken in Switzerland
Last Sunday, a new temperature record was broken in Bisaca in the canton of Ticino. At 3:20 pm on 11 August 2024 the temperature reached an annual high of 36.3 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in the town, reported RTS. Temperatures reached uncomfortable levels in other parts of Switzerland too, hitting 35 degrees […]
Swiss attorney general fines miner Glencore
This week, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced it had fined and closed its criminal investigation against the mining company Glencore International AG. After a four year investigation, OAG closed its criminal investigation against the Swiss-based company and imposed a CHF 2 million fine for failing to take all necessary and reasonable organisational […]
